Where It All Began
by whoisstephthough
Summary: Hermione Granger is finding her first few weeks at Hogwarts rather difficult as she struggles to make friends and the rest of the first year consider her a bossy know-it-all. But one sleepless night, in the common room, a strange encounter with Ron Weasley, whom she considered hated her too, could potentially change everything she thought she knew. (One-Shot)


A/N: Hey there, so I haven't written Fanfiction in a good 4 or 5 years so this might take a while to get used to again, so bear with me! Just giving it another shot as I enjoy writing and I really have missed it! Anyway, this will probably be a one-shot but either way enjoy whatever this becomes I guess

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the Harry Potter Characters or content related. All rights to JKR.

In the darkness of the night, Hermione rolled over in her four poster bed, still very much awake. She didn't feel remotely tired anymore. Her head was spinning with everything that occurred in her first few weeks at Hogwarts. She had done everything she possibly could to prepare herself. Or she thought she had. She felt like she had been sitting an exam she knew nothing about since term started.

Hermione felt rather alone since arriving at Hogwarts. True, she had talked to other girls in her dormitory and she had a few odd conversations with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, but she didn't much like them very much so far, and they didn't seem to like her. They seemed like the typical trouble-makers who cared about no one else. Aside from that, Hermione hadn't made many friends. She tried her best to talk to people, but they often seemed distant and reluctant to speak to her. Hermione had heard a few whispers after their first few days, coming from not only the Slytherins, but some of her fellow Gryffindor's, stating that they thought her bossy and a know-it-all. She tried not to take these words to heart, but she struggled. She had only tried to prepare herself by learning as much as she could about magic. She was a muggle born after all.

Giving up on sleep entirely, Hermione sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her bushy, brown hair. She wished she could go for a walk to clear her mind, but students were not allowed outside the dormitory at night, and she was not going to break that rule. Instead, Hermione got up and quietly pulled back the hangings of her bed. Next to her lay Lavender Brown, sleeping away peacefully. Trying not to wake her, or any of the others, Hermione crept across the dormitory to the windowsill that held a water jug. She poured herself a glass, watching the water flowing almost noiselessly into the cup. Hermione took a sip, the water refreshing, before deciding to make the most of her time and finish some homework. She retrieved her things from her trunk and headed down the cold stone steps to the common room.

It was well past midnight, so the common room was eerily silent; the fire had almost burned out, casting a small amber glow across the empty room. In her favourite, squashy armchair by the fire, Hermione laid out her things on the table in front of her and tried to decide what to do first. There was the History of Magic essay, that would take some time, or Professor Snape's Potions essay, that one was a killer. After deliberating for a solid 10 minutes, Hermione decided upon Flitwick's Charm's essay and set to work.

Hermione had been working for no more than 20 minutes when she stopped mid-sentence and strained her ears. She had definitely heard something coming from the spiral staircase. She put down her quill and rose from her chair, reaching into her pyjama pocket for her wand. Squinting in the near-complete darkness, Hermione surveyed the entrance to the staircase and next minute an outline of another student appeared. They wandered, seemingly unknowing of Hermione's presence, into the common room. Hermione watched the student head towards her by the fire and decided to make her presence known.

"Excuse me?" She said, clearing her throat. The student stopped dead only steps from her, when Hermione recognised who it was. It was Ron Weasley, his red hair even distinguishable in the dim fire light. He breathed a sigh of relief having realised it was only Hermione and he sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Blimey, Hermione. You scared me. What are you doing down here so late?" Ron replied, surprisingly kindly.

"Couldn't sleep so I'm doing homework. What are you doing down here?" Hermione said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Dunno, just woke up and decided to come down. Couldn't really sleep either," Ron said this all without making eye contact with Hermione. Hermione sat back in her own chair and the pair fell silent. Ron sat staring at the floor, clearly unsure what to do or say, while Hermione attempted to fill the awkward moment by returning to her homework. They sat like this for several minutes, the scratching of Hermione's quill the only sound to be heard. Hermione was considering just giving up and trying to go back to sleep in her dormitory when Ron finally spoke.

"So I know everyone's been pretty hard on you Hermione. Calling you a know-it-all and stuff. And I know I'm guilty of it too…" He broke off talking, hesitating. He seemed uncertain about what point he was trying to make as he wore an expression of confusion. Hermione looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter. I don't really care, I just ignore it and get on with it," Hermione answered, saving Ron the trouble of rescuing his feeble sentences. Ron finally looked up at her and gave her a weak smile.

"I know I shouldn't say things like I have. I'd like to apologise for that. And also for anything I may say in the future because to be honest with you, I'm so tired I probably won't remember this conversation tomorrow," Ron heartily laughed and looked away again. Slightly taken aback but appreciative all the same, Hermione smiled back at him.

"Thank you, Ron, but don't worry about it. It's okay".

"Really? Are you sure? I know I'm bound to say something stupid again. When I get frustrated, I sometimes say things I don't mean," Ron said.

"Don't we all though Ron? We may be wizards and witches but we're still human," said Hermione. This brought Ron's eyes back to Hermione's.

"Yeah I suppose so. I just don't want to be known to you as that guy who was rude to you in first year. You know, I actually don't mind you knowing lots of things sometimes," Ron's response puzzled Hermione. Was that meant to be a compliment or not?

"Um, thank you… I think," Hermione said, smiling.

"Don't listen to Malfoy by the way. I don't think you're ugly at all. I think you're prettier than the rest of the first years," Ron said this very quickly before getting up and walking briskly back to the staircase leading to the dormitories. Hermione opened her mouth to say something back, but was still processing what Ron had just said. She stared at the spot where Ron had vanished, thinking.

Since meeting Ron on the Hogwarts Express, she had thought the he hadn't liked her very much. Now she thought about it she had made herself appear rather up front. But the words that had just come out of Ron's over-exhausted mouth, changed things. He didn't think she was ugly like the rest of first year probably did. And if this had of been in daylight with some sleep behind it, Ron probably wouldn't have said what he just did, especially with his new best friend Harry Potter beside him. But here, alone, he had said it, and although he had also said she was annoying and bossy and liked to stick her nose in everyone else's business, Hermione thought perhaps he didn't hate her as much as he portrayed.

Hermione remained in the common room for another half hour after the conversation with Ron, thinking over everything. She had given up trying to complete her homework as she was too distracted now, so she packed up her books and headed back up to the girl's dormitory.

Perhaps I was overthinking it, Hermione thought to herself, back in her four poster bed. Ron was half asleep when we were talking, and like he said, he probably won't remember the conversation tomorrow morning. She rolled over, pulled the covers over her a little more and finally drifted off to sleep.

Little did Hermione know that Ron remembered that conversation clear as day. He remembers everything that he and Hermione said. He remembers hearing someone walking down the stone steps and hearing the loud thud of books being set on the table, coming from the common room. He remembers groggily getting up from bed, checking that Harry and his other fellow Gryffindor's were asleep, before heading out of the dormitory. He remembered how he could hear Hermione's voice as she quietly whispered what she was writing without realising. But above all, he remembers the way she had smiled at him when he had dismally tried to compliment her. The way he had felt butterflies in his stomach. Was it nerves, was it happiness, was it fear? He didn't know, until many years later after pretending to have forgotten that entire, strange encounter, when he finally kissed Hermione Granger.

A/N: So there it is, my first Fanfiction in a long time. This just sort of happened, I didn't really plan it so it's probably not that great, but feel free to leave a review of your opinion, but be kind. Thank you xx


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